Sunday, September 04, 2016

The Way Things Could Be

That’s what I’m talking about!
The kind of Achdus that Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein wrote about on Cross Currents
is the way things should be. Bright young thinkers from Yeshiva University, Chabad, Brisk, Mir, Ner Israel, Lakewood, and Satmar getting together in
common cause is a wonderful example of my dream of Achdus for the wider Orthodox Jewish world.Which would go a long way toward fostering Achdus with all of Jewry.

We are far from reaching that
goal. But at least some very bright representatives from each of those groups
have come together with the shared value of positive engagement with our fellow secular
citizens, both Jewish and non Jewish.

Rabbi Adlerstein says he was (and
still is to a degree) exhilarated by the 3rd annual conference of Tikvah Program for
Yeshiva Men. The political philosophy of this program is conservative. I
tend to lean conservative on most issues although on some I would be considered
fairly liberal. But it doesn’t really matter to me whether they were poltically
liberal or conservative. The fact that they were all there in common cause is
what stokes my imagination about what could be.

The theme
this year was pragmatic isolationism vs. an obligation to
share the Torah’s vision with non-Jewish Americans. Rabbi Adlerstein points out something that truly
pleased him (and me). The vast majority of participants felt as I do: that we
must engage with the community at large so as to be a light unto the nations…
spreading the light of the Torah’s values and ethics to as much of mankind as
we can. And in that sense Judaism has much in common with the politically conservative point of view.I fully expect that this would be hotly
disputed by those who are politically liberal. They will argue that political liberalism is the real Torah Hashkafa. But for me, there is
little doubt that the politically conservative point of view has far more in common
with the Torah’s values than does the politically liberal point of view.
Albeit with some notable exceptions.

The question is however, do the participants
reflect the view of their respective communities, or are they the exceptions?
Rabbi Adlerstein correctly notes that by merely attending this conference they
show an individual bias towards integration for purposes of sharing our values
- rather than being isolationist/protectionist. In a vote taken by the group – integration
was by far the preferred model.

But as he also notes,
the isolationist/protectionist model was supported by some of the participants
(I would venture a guess that it was the Satmar faction). They said that dealing
with the government should only be for purposes of self preservation - seeking out
programs that would provide the Jewish community with financial benefits (e.g.
tuition tax credits or school vouchers) and to fight for legislation favorable to
observant Jews (e.g. the right not to be penalized for not working on Shabbos). This - they argued had always been the model
for dealing with governments throughout the diaspora.

The participant lecturers were from
a wide variety of conservative thinkers that included observant Jews, secular Jews, and non Jews. From Cross Currents:

R. Ahron Lopianksy delivered a
major shiur on what could – and could not – be gleaned from the gemara
concerning economic policy and government intervention. While that topic leaned
towards the theoretical, a conversation between Rabbi Gedalya Weinberger and
Dr. Irving Lebovics (Agudah, California) was entirely about the nuts and bolts
of problems facing the charedi community, and advocating for our positions in
hostile state legislatures.

William Kristol, one of the
acknowledged neo-conservative leaders (and one of the first of that group to
announce that he cannot bring himself to vote for either Trump or Clinton)
spoke about the future of the two-party system in the US, and the very
different dangers to Jewish interests of the expected policies of either of the
two candidates.

(BMG CEO) R. Aaron Kotler engaged
Dr. R.R. Reno (editor of First Things, the most important US journal of
religion in the public square) in a vigorous discussion about maintaining one’s
moral positions while dealing with political figures and a polity that held
conflicting views.

I can’t tell you how pleased I to
see the variety of Orthodox Jews from Lakewood to YU participating in this. If
only this would spread to the rest of Klal Yisroel – both here and in Israel. We
need the participants in this conference to teach members of their own Hashkafa
what they have learned there.

That said, I think that to a certain
extent it is already happening in America in what I often refer to as the new
centrists - defined sociologically rather than Hashkaficly. But - as I
indicated above - we still have a long way to go.

I do not however seeing it happening
in Israel right now. I see the opposite. The factional fights there are too
strong – even within a single Hashkafa. Like the Charedi one. Which is why
there are two rival Charedi political parties and why there is a virtual war
between the Rav Steniman faction and the R’ Shmuel Auerbach faction. Not to
mention the divide between the Chasidim and the Litvishe Yeshiva world; Askenazim
and Sephardim. The Religious Zionist faction has its own internal fights. And
then there is the controversy over the Chief
Rabbinate. Israeli Orthodoxy is just too polarized.

I do however like what Rabbi
Adlerstein says should be our take-away. I will therefore end with that thought – just as he did:

Too many people have argued that,
notwithstanding the breathtaking numbers of adherents to the yeshiva system,
the price paid has been a uniformity in dress and group-think imposed attitudes
that stifle individuality and creativity. The Tikvah Program for Yeshiva Men
proves that this is not the way it has to be.

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About Me

My outlook on Judaism is based mostly on the teachings of my primary Rebbe, Rabbi Aaron Soloveichik from whom I received my rabbinic ordination. It is also based on a search for spiritual truth. Among the various sources that put me on the right path, two great philosophic works stand out: “Halakhic Man” and “Lonely Man of Faith” authored by the pre-eminent Jewish philosopher and theologian, Rabbi, Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik. Of great significance is Rabbi, Dr. Norman Lamm's conceptualization and models of Torah U’Mada and Dr. Eliezer Berkovits who introduced me to the world of philosophic thought. Among my early influences were two pioneers of American Elementary Torah Chinuch, Rabbis Shmuel Kaufman and Yaakov Levi. The Yeshivos I attended were Yeshivas Telshe for early high school and more significantly, the Hebrew Theological College where for a period of ten years, my Rebbeim included such great Rabbinic figures as Rabbis Mordechai Rogov, Shmaryahu Meltzer, Yaakov Perlow, Herzl Kaplan, and Selig Starr. I also attended Roosevelt University where I received my Bachelor's Degree - majoring in Psychology.